FORMER convent schoolgirls Lizzy and Catherine Ward Thomas from rural Hampshire are the unlikely bright new stars of country music – both in the UK and in Nashville.

The 20-year-old non-identical twin sisters, from Liss, near Petersfield, won Album of the Year at the British Country Music Awards in 2014, and following widespread acclaim for their debut album are now embarking on their first headlining UK tour, including a show at Southampton’s Mo’ Club On Thursday, March 12.

It has been a phenomenal year for the duo, with their debut LP From Where We Stand going to No 1 on both the iTunes Country Chart and the OCC Country Artist Album chart, taking top honours at the British Country Music Awards.

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Now the critically acclaimed Ward Thomas have released their new single, Town Called Ugley, to coincide with their 18-date UK headline tour, and the release of the repackaged version of From Where We Stand, also out, both physically and digitally, this week.

Lizzy spoke to the Daily Echo about their remarkable success and the exciting times ahead and explained why they chose country music.

“We grew up with country music. Our grandma used to sing Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn songs but we really got introduced to the music by our cousin from Canada.

"She came over and lived with us for about four years when we were 13 and completely inspired us listening to people like The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood.

“We loved the harmonies, the stories and the songs – we were blown away and we wanted to make our own version.”

The sisters were day students at Alton Convent School where they both sang in the choir. Lizzy played flute in the orchestra, but at home they played guitars and country songs instead.

When they became boarders at the prestigious Hertwood House School in Surrey for their sixth form studies their songwriting became a lot more serious.

It was here that some big doors started to open for them.

Lizzy explained: “We started to write songs properly and the song Footnotes was written there with our music teacher Matt Greaves.

“We had great chemistry with Matt and a lot of our songs were written by him.

“He helped open the door for us to go to Nashville. By coincidence our singing teacher at Hurtwood House, Anne Bailey, was originally from Michigan and was a session singer in Nashville for seven years.

“She heard the song Footnotes and was so excited about it – and British twins doing country music.

"We were all in deep dis cussion for weeks with our parents about going to Nashville and in the end we thought ‘why not?’

“We got on very, very well over there and we haven’t stopped going back since.”

In Nashville they met session musicians Bobby Blazier and Chris Rodrigues who produced the album and play on it, too.

But the sisters found their greatest strength came from each other when it came to the songwriting.

“We were very lucky that we’d written together before that – we did better together.

“We’ve grown up together 24/7 all our lives and experienced the same situations but we have very different personalities and viewpoints on things.

“I think what helped as well was that our songs are all about our own experiences here in the UK.

“And so they were interested because we weren’t trying to write songs about trucks andcowboys.”

When the debut album went to number one on iTunes, Lizzy said: “We were so excited – especially finding ourselves sitting alongside names like Dolly Parton was incredible.”

The girls started out performing at their local pub, “The No Name Pub” ( although it is really called The White Horse) and they still pick up a guitar and sing there occasionally late at night. They have also been playing at festivals, too.

Veteran DJ Terry Wogan has become a big fan, regularly playing their music on Radio 2, along with Bob Harris.

“They’ve been so great to us: it’s really nice to have people like that who have been in the music business so long supporting us,” said Lizzy.

The new single, released this week, Town Called Ugley, is an up-tempo, punchy number with a tongue-in-cheek lyric that tells the story of a car journey that turns into a farce in which the sisters get lost in Ugley, a tiny village in Essex.

The track is accompanied by an equally funny animated video. The cut also features legendary country guitarist Vince Gill, known as the “Eric Clapton of Country Music” in Nashville, whose brilliant guitar solo|sprinkles considerable stardust on the track.

Lizzy explained the story behind writing it: “Catherine and I were singing at a wedding and were staying at a friend’s house in Essex which should have been a 20-minute drive away.

"But the satnav played up and we got lost in a village called Ugley for two hours!

"The road was closed, there was a broken down tractor and we found ourselves driving round in circles past the Ugley Women’s Institute, the Ugley Parish Council and Ugley church. We were really angry with each other at first but in the end we couldn’t stop laughing.”